1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of monitoring temperature, humidity and/or other environmental or product characteristics for stationary storage and shipping quality control applications and, in particular, to a system for remotely accessing such information across a computer network and billing for such service.
2. Background
Most of the presently available technology for tracking time and temperature during the shipment of perishable and environmentally-sensitive commodities has technological roots over 70 years deep. Devices tracking time and temperature have been widely used in the transportation industry for monitoring shipments of fruits and vegetables, chemicals, poultry, seedpods, flowers, frozen foods, drugs, biologics and other temperature-sensitive goods. Manufacturers of time and temperature investigative devices have sold these recording instruments to manufacturers, growers, and shippers of goods requiring environmental control during transportation and storage.
Generally, there are three commonly used existing technologies for such use: strip chart recorders, circular graphs and electronic data loggers. The terms “data logger, “monitoring device” and “data recorder”, as used herein are intended to cover any electronic, electro-mechanical, or electro-chemical apparatus, whether digital or analog, utilizing sensor-based technologies for measuring and tracking the relevant data over time, including both storing such data for later reading and enabling real-time access to the data. Use of these devices is especially commonplace in shipment and storage situations requiring strict documentation for quality assurance, since molecular structures can be changed by improper temperature maintenance, and such change can ruin perishable items. Like temperature, other factors such as humidity, vibration, and levels of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases can also have a profound effect on cell biology and molecular structure during storage and transportation.
Recently, programmable electronic data loggers and real-time electronic monitoring devices have become available at considerable costs to end users for direct measurements of temperature, humidity, ambient pressure, water flow levels, gas levels, vibration, acceleration, strain, voltage and photonic exposure levels as well as other environmental criteria, in both storage and transportation. However, despite the wide availability of these devices, the industry is not without room for considerable improvement. Available programmable electronic data loggers and real time electronic monitoring devices are expensive, coming with high maintenance costs associated with returning, servicing, programming, calibrating and where necessary, reading and replacing thermographic paper for strip charts, and provide only delayed processing and limited access to processed information. Often times, because of the high cost associated with return shipment of a device for reading or reuse, the device is sent overseas with a shipment and never returned to a party who desires to review the tracking data or reuse the device. Also, current manufacturers of single use devices such as strip charts do not encourage the return of the devices because transportation and return costs would negate any economic benefit from reuse. Further, the recorded data, whether recorded on thermographic paper or more sophisticated electronic devices, is not easily communicated to all interested parties when used in a system wherein return of the information to the shipper is voluntary and not automated. This poses a problem for the shipper or storer of perishable or environmentally sensitive goods. Without data returned from the shipment destination, shippers have no record of transportation conditions and have no way of determining the causes of problems should products arrive in unsatisfactory condition. Another problem associated with current data logger operation is that maintaining a large inventory of electronic data records is both costly and care intensive, and maintaining a large inventory of loggers for customers is expensive.
The present invention addresses the shortcomings of the available art in a highly efficient manner while simultaneously enabling the device manufacturer or other entity controlling the logger to charge for services each time information is communicated to interested parties.